Poetry Isn't Your Strong Suit
by Darkhymns
Summary: Lloyd's feelings for Colette could no longer be denied, but how else could he express them to her than just through second-rate necklaces? [Lloyd/Colette]


Lloyd knew that he liked Colette ever since he was little, but it was only at thirteen years old that he was finally able to put his feelings for her into words.

Kind of.

Colette had sat at lunch alone when he first saw her, hair so bright that it reminded him of the polished metals his dad would use to craft. After that, his young mind then began to process other things; the way her voice lifted whenever she saw Noishe at the village entrance, how her white dress stood out in the classroom against the brown oak of the walls, and the day she held his hand when she brought him to her grandmother, hoping to share with him the baked cookies her family had made.

There were other girls in the class that he thought were also pretty, especially Professor Raine and her silver hair. But before he could join her fan club with the other boys, she had yelled at him loudly in front of everyone for sleeping during a lesson, and then gave him extra math assignments as punishment. The way she had shouted had been so frightening, which took away any pretty shine Lloyd once had for her.

Colette never shouted – sometimes she barely said a thing at all, and it took a few days for Lloyd to have her speak to him beyond simple polite greetings. After that, she would make faces at the math questions he showed her, and always marveled at the tiny little carvings he drew on the school desk (until Professor Raine found out and had him sit on the floor for the rest of that week). And when she smiled – when she _really_ smiled, and not the kind she showed to adults from the Church or nodded with while in class – it made him happy. How her teeth would show, how it stretched her cheeks, and how bright her eyes would become, so much so that he tried to do all he could to keep them shining.

There would be many girls around with pretty hair, but no one smiled like Colette. On her last birthday, she had smiled so much, holding the necklace he made for her, shaped like an uneven star. It didn't seem to matter to her that it wasn't as good as the work his Dad would do. She had held it tightly between her fingers, and the feelings that he had been building for her in his chest, suddenly filled him to the point of overflowing. Something that made his heart beat fast, that nearly made him reach for her hands again until he held it back.

Lloyd wanted to tell her how he felt, but he was never very good at words, and…. he was afraid of saying so to her face. He then asked the smartest person he knew for help – his eight-year old best friend.

"You want to write what?" Genis asked. Both boys were seated before the small pond in front of Genis' home. There was a tiny mound of pebbles placed between them, each trying their hand at skipping stones. Lloyd had the stronger arm to flick the stone straight past the pond's perimeter, while Genis just lopped his own straight into the water.

"Just… like, a letter." Lloyd didn't look at Genis, keeping his eyes on the water and suddenly feeling very, very self-conscious about the whole thing. "For Colette. I want to write something for her. And I think I need your help doing it."

He didn't have to look to know Genis was frowning. "Sis says that your handwriting's really bad."

Lloyd started. "She's not supposed to tell you that!"

"Sis tells me everything! And I've looked at your homework enough to know that already." Genis continued their game, throwing another stone, once again smacking into the center of the pond. "I mean, I guess Colette might still be able to read it. What did you want to write her? Are you going away somewhere?"

"Um, no," Lloyd said, confused. "Why?"

"People send letters to others when they're far away, dummy. But you see Colette every day, so I don't see why you need to? If you want to tell her something, just tell her!"

"I can't… um…" Lloyd messed up his aim, the stone going off course to the left. "I can't really say it out loud. Writing it just… seems easier... And you're good at all that word stuff!"

A pause. "Just tell her you like her already."

Lloyd's stone hit right into the moss-covered fence, missing the pond completely. "How did you know?!" he asked, in awe of Genis' insurmountable knowledge.

"Lloyd, after so long hanging out with you, how could I _not_ know?" Genis finally succeeded in skipping a stone, hitting three splashes before it sunk. "Also, sis told me."

Lloyd decided to be a little sulky at this, bringing his knees to his chin and staring ahead. "Jerk."

Still, that was one hurdle overcome, and it gave the boy an opening that he took advantage of before it went away.

"You should just write my letter _for_ me!"

"What?" Genis cried. "I'm not doing that!"

"Well, you owe it to me for being a jerk!"

"How was I a jerk?!"

Lloyd stood up, hand still clasping a pebble. "For saying my handwriting is dumb!"

Genis followed suit, his young face turning a light shade of red. "When did you ever care about that? And it's true anyway! Besides, me writing _your_ love letter for Colette is super weird!"

Lloyd stuttered out, "It- it's not a love letter! And don't say that so loud!"

"Oh, come on! Everyone already knows!"

"No, they don't!" Lloyd countered, but struggled to think of a follow-up. It took him a full five seconds, fists clenched as he wracked his brain for something good to say. "And what do you know? You're… only eight after all!"

Genis rolled his eyes. "That's so lame." With that, said eight-year old then turned around and lopped numerous pebbles into the lake, which shocked Lloyd to his core.

"That's cheating! You can't do that!"

"It's my pond! So, it's not!" Genis finished by crossing his arms, standing tall with a smug smile. That stance sparked a competitive beast within Lloyd, one that always seemed to come out whenever they played games together.

"Oh yeah?" He wound up his arm, aiming it at the pond again. "Check this out then!"

" _Boys!"_ A shout reverberated from the house behind them. Raine had both hands on her hips, staring daggers at the children. "Please quiet down while I'm working. You two have been yelling the whole afternoon."

Raine's interruption was sudden. Her shout especially threw Lloyd off balance. Just when he was about to throw the stone, he wobbled and threw it at a completely opposite direction – toward Raine's head.

"Ow! Lloyd!"

Lloyd had never run out of a place so fast.

* * *

Genis had come by his home the next day, lugging a giant textbook in his arms, and saying no words about his sister. He dropped it on Lloyd's worktable, making the structure rattle from the weight. "That's a thesaurus," Genis said to Lloyd's befuddled expression. "To help you find good words for your letter to Colette."

Lloyd looked blankly at the book. "…Do I have to read all of it?"

"No, just find the page of the word you want to say, but better. It's in alphabetical order." Genis then raised an eyebrow. "You… do know your alphabet, right?"

"I'm not that dumb!"

"I'm just making sure!"

The book was as thick as one of his dad's arms. Lloyd was wondering just how exactly Genis was able to make it through the long trek in the forest while carrying that around. He was good at magic, but shouldn't he need at least one hand free to do any of that…?

Genis answered his unspoken question. "Sis came with me. She's just outside."

"Oh." Lloyd grew nervous. "Um, is she…"

"She's fine, though she's got a nasty bump on her head."

Lloyd was already not looking forward to Monday.

"Anyway, just use this so you can write your love letter to Colette. I even bookmarked the pages with the words you might want. Like 'nice', and 'pretty', and 'the'…"

"I told you, it's not a love letter!" That sounded so uncool! "But, um, thanks," he said in a more somber tone.

Genis smirked. "Don't think too hard on it anyway. I'd help, but Raine wants to try out a new recipe today and I have to make sure she doesn't melt our cooking pot again."

Lloyd had intense sympathies for his friend just then. "Sorry."

Before Genis turned to go, he said, "If you really don't like what you wrote, I _guess_ I could try writing your letter for you. It'll be _really weird_ , but only if your letter is that bad. You'd have to rewrite it in your handwriting though. Colette would at least recognize that it wasn't your writing for sure."

Lloyd was tempted to jump at the chance. Since Genis let him copy his homework all the time, how was this any different? But then he thought about it, and about Colette's smile. Is that something Genis would even notice?

"Thanks, Genis," he said simply, still mulling over his thoughts, barely noticing when his friend finally left the room.

After that, Lloyd put all his willpower into just trying to open the humongous book. He immediately regretted this decision. He already had to write. Why did he need to read, too? Couldn't he just copy one of those dumb love poems that the Professor made them read for literature class and be done with it?! Not that it was a love poem to begin with!

Lloyd sat at his desk, eyes glazing over the pages, idly noticing the bookmarks that Genis had placed. Why did he want to write this so bad? When he could barely write an essay to save his life, and his grade?

Colette had been so busy with her Church duties lately. She left class early to attend even more lessons, walking a far stretch of land to the temple. Despite how long Lloyd would wait for her, hours after school was already over, the sky would start to darken once she returned. So little time left together before he had to march back home with a whining Noishe. Colette would always apologize on those days, her hands unconsciously touching the necklace he made for her. If he only he could have made a better one, if only he could say something that would make her magically stop apologizing and thinking everything was her fault.

He hoped that this letter would make her happy at least, if he couldn't do all that. He wanted her to smile without fear, and he wanted her to cry whenever she wanted. There were tears in her eyes when he and Genis found her on her birthday, seated on the grass, away from the village. But she had wiped them away before they got close. Lloyd wondered how often she held those tears back. He wanted to tell her that she could cry in front of him if she needed to.

There were too many things that he wanted to say. He dug his fingers through his hair and pulled at them in frustration. "Argh, why does writing have to be hard?"

But like when he made her the necklace, he decided to push through. His skills may not be the best, but he could at least try! He searched for a piece of paper and pen, both so dusty from their lack of use. "Okay! I'll do it!" he shouted to no one in particular.

It was the first time Lloyd ever pulled an all-nighter.

* * *

Lloyd could barely think straight the next morning.

The problem with getting little sleep was that it made his journey to Iselia a bit harder. Luckily, no monsters attacked him this time, and Noishe was more than willing to guide the boy. He was so tired that he was nearly falling asleep atop the dog. Colette, who liked to greet Lloyd everyday (and his cute doggy!) was waiting by the village entrance for him. She immediately noticed the bags under his eyes.

"Lloyd, you look so sleepy," she commented with worry.

He smiled at her tiredly. "I'm okay, just… had to do chores and junk."

She smiled back, going over to pat Noishe's head, scratching behind his big ears and laughing as she did so. Her shoulder brushed past Lloyd, just against the inside pocket of his jacket.

The letter was in there.

Colette didn't seem to have noticed it. "Ready to go?" she asked him, already starting on their way to the schoolhouse.

This was the time to give it to her. His hands still ached from holding the pen for hours. Bunches of balled up paper littered his room, which would result in an angry Dirk later for not cleaning up. All he had to do was hand her the paper he held close to his chest and tell her what he felt. He had done it so easily with the necklace, despite how much his heart trembled. But the way she was looking at him, so expectant, suddenly froze Lloyd's limbs.

"Uh…" he started, throat all dry. Noishe sneezed behind him, making him jump. "Um, uh, y-yeah! Let's go!"

Ah, damn it.

Colette was already leading the way as Lloyd followed her. He could call out and stop her at any time, but his hands were shaking. He had worked so hard on this! Just give it to her!

His numerous chances completely vanished once they finally walked into the classroom. Immediately, he was greeted to Raine's face – and the small bandage on her head.

"Good morning, everyone," Raine said as she was seated at her big desk. Sharp eyes latched onto Lloyd quickly. "Good morning, Lloyd. Glad you could join us."

Wow, that bump really was big! Lloyd winced at the sight, shifting nervously on his feet. "Sorry about… um.." Why could he suddenly not talk today?

"It's fine. Go take your seat. And Colette, you don't need to be late yourself just because Lloyd is, too."

"I- I know! I'm sorry."

Lloyd watched forlornly as Colette rushed far to her seat, all the way on the other side of the classroom. He had missed his chance…

" _Lloyd."_

"Uh, yeah! Sorry!"

It was normal for him to barely pay attention in class, but never before had his mind buzzed so much as it did now. Lloyd's desk was shifted all the way to the right wall, ever since the 'desk carving' incident where Professor Raine thought it best that his acts of vandalism would not be spurred on by a gleeful audience (ie: Colette). Lloyd shifted every so often, unable to take sitting there for six hours until he could finally give it to Colette… but then, didn't she have to go to the temple later for her Chosen stuff? Argh, he was never going to get it to her then!

Lloyd glanced at the blackboard ahead and saw Raine writing down some math equations. So boring! He knew Colette didn't like math that much either. Sometimes, he would pass her notes while in class, usually with badly-drawn pictures of dogs (he could carve well enough, but drawing wasn't his strong suit). But now she was rows away, so that was a bust. Maybe he could have handed her the letter then…

A brilliant idea lit up Lloyd's mind.

"So, we will be going over the basics once more." A collective sigh from most in the classroom. "Yes, I know most of you have this down by now, but this will be a good refresher. As well as help catch up those who are behind."

A furious crinkling of paper whispered from Lloyd's desk, but luckily Raine's voice was louder, overpowering any other sound. Genis heard it however, turning around to spy at his friend who was bent over his desk. He was folding up something. Was he making those paper cranes again? Lloyd knew he could just do that during art class, didn't he?

"Now, from the beginning. When you have one apple, combined with _another_ apple…"

But Genis had never seen Lloyd work so hard on those things before. Being around two rows ahead of Lloyd, he couldn't see very well, but strained his neck trying to anyway.

"Obviously, it amounts to two apples. This only increases the _number_ of said apples, and not, as some would say, their apparent strength. Numbers can denote different values, and they are not equivalent for all situations."

Lloyd sat up straight suddenly and seemed to smile at his own handiwork. It was a simple paper plane, though one miles better than what Genis could ever make. Then Lloyd turned to his left, one where Genis knew Colette was sitting.

That was how he was going to deliver his love letter?!

"Ms. Raine," spoke up one student, a girl with thick glasses, who sat just ahead of the young Chosen. "Would it be alright if I can open the window? It's getting very humid."

Lloyd didn't notice Genis' open-mouthed stare. This was the best thing he ever thought up! He didn't have to wait for who knows how long to give this to her. That and he wouldn't need to just stand there awkwardly while she read it either.

He paid no attention to what was happening up front.

"Alright, Laura. You can do so. Now, let's review fractions."

Lloyd calculated the arc of his flight, and then flew his paper plane with careful force. Not like skipping stones, but he was usually better at this. The plane circled just above Colette's head.

Then the window opened.

The breeze was a bit sudden, ruffling the pages of some open books. Colette brushed back some loose strands over her ear to keep them from flying in her face.

She never noticed the plane above suddenly change direction.

"Aw man!"

Lloyd's cry of dismay was a bit loud, attracting numerous eyes. The paper plane continued to fly drunkenly above the ceiling, buffeted by light winds before it finally decided to settle on a flat surface with a less than graceful landing.

And it did so on top of Raine's desk.

Raine looked to it, then back to Lloyd. "What's this, Lloyd?"

The boy went very pale. Wow, this… did not go as planned at all.

The kids in the classroom then started to voice their own theories on the mysterious paper.

"Is it those doggy drawings again?"

"I bet it's a gross picture of Ms. Raine!"

"No, it's a love letter to Ms. Raine!"

"He can't do that! He's not in the club!"

Raine ignored all the mutterings and went to pick up the paper. "Well, if this is so important that you needed to interrupt our lesson, Lloyd, then I suppose you won't mind if I share this with the rest of the class."

"Wait!" Lloyd shouted. He got so frantic that he jumped right onto his desk, flailing his arms. "Don't look! That's not-!"

"Lloyd Irving, get down!

Raine already unfolded the paper plane, not checking if Lloyd heeded her words. He didn't, standing stock still as she read aloud.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, out of a million people, I chose you…"

Genis slapped his forehead. "You started off with that?!"

"I – I was stuck on the first sentence, okay?" Lloyd yelled.

Raine continued, her voice completely stripped of all emotion.

"Please take my hand, and also know, that whatever you say, I will like the…" Raine squinted. "More? Moist? Oh, it's 'most.'" She sighed. "Lloyd, your handwriting has improved, but only slightly…"

The other students laughed, pointing at the boy who was still standing tall on his desk. He quickly scampered back down, but Raine continued to read. Did she know no mercy?!

"The rest doesn't rhyme, but I want to say, I really like you and want to see you smile. But if you want to cry, that's okay, too. You are…" Raine squinted her eyes again, though this time in confusion than out of any reading difficulty. "The superlative lassie with the prevalent aortic pump that myself comprehend of." Silence followed shortly after.

"Wow, and it started off so romantic, too," a student critiqued aloud.

Genis turned to Lloyd. "Why."

"I was using the thesaurus like you said to! I wanted to sound all smart!"

"You could've just said heart!"

There was apparently more, as Raine's eyes scanned the lower parts of the letter. But then she folded it up, deciding enough was enough. "Lloyd, while I am flattered you feel that way about me, please don't throw your proclamations of love around in the classroom. Someone could lose an eye."

The kids laughed, shouting popular love rhymes as Lloyd looked down, his face red. Though a few remained pointedly silent; the boys of Professor Raine's club, muttering vengeance for Lloyd taking their beloved's attention, Genis who was still wrapping his head around it all, and Colette, her eyes still that bright blue. Lloyd had sneaked a quick glance at her, and immediately felt like complete crud.

"Now, I appreciate a man that can transcribe his thoughts neatly. So, we will be going back to our handwriting lessons, Lloyd, after school."

"Now he gets private lessons too? Come on!"

Unlike the other boys, Lloyd was not so thrilled. This was just another punishment, with even less time he would have with Colette. He looked back to the girl, but her eyes were forward again as Raine restarted her lesson. He hoped he hadn't messed anything up.

Next time, he was just sticking with jewelry.

* * *

Genis couldn't help but feel bad about the entire thing.

The day dragged on, Raine's lessons already erasing the previous incident with little impact, except to Lloyd's pride. The boy had tried to sneak away when class ended, but not before Raine called out to him.

"Now, Lloyd. If you really want to see me smile, you will do these extra lessons for me."

Most of the class had already left, Colette earlier than most, as she once again had gone off early for Temple training. Only Genis straggled, as he always did to talk with his sister. He watched as Lloyd sulked, walking up to the front of the class.

"You know that wasn't meant for you," Lloyd mumbled, still embarrassed.

Raine's face betrayed no surprise. Instead, she spoke, "Of course. I saw her name on it, no matter how sloppily written it was. And I was there when Genis decided to hand you our thesaurus, after all." Then, her voice turned a fraction softer, preceding her words with a sigh. "I suggest you tell her your feelings in a more discreet manner, preferably not during class time."

The boy had no defense to that. "Fine. Sorry."

Genis wondered then if he really should have written the letter himself.

Lloyd was already morosely writing out sentences on the chalkboard once Genis left, the excuse given to his sister that he would start making her dinner. Despite being only eight, he was a fast learner when it came to cooking (and most other things too, of course). Besides, when one lived with Raine, learning to cook was a necessity.

Instead, he went down the path that led to the temple, where the shore was outstretched. He wasn't really allowed to go out by himself, but his window of opportunity was short! He had to hurry before Raine would finally leave the schoolhouse.

He barely turned the corner to go outside the village before bumping into someone.

"Genis! I'm sorry!"

Colette had landed on her back, looking up at the young boy with apologetic eyes. Genis remained standing, looking down at her with some bewilderment.

"You know, Lloyd has a point. You really do apologize too much!" He reached for her hand, trying to pull her up as much as his little body was able to. Colette mostly got up through her own strength, but she thanked him all the same.

"Hey, Colette, I actually wanted to tell you something. Is now a good time?"

"Oh, of course!" she answered, hands clasped politely. No priests were with her now, not even her grandmother. This was probably the first time Genis had ever seen her walk by herself from the temple. "Grandmother had to finish up some things," she said to the question in his eyes. "And they say it's good training if I walk around this place by myself more often. So that I can prepare for my journey!"

She said this with such positivity that, for a moment, Genis saw something in her eyes. But it vanished so fast. Perhaps it hadn't been that important.

"It's about Lloyd and his letter, from today."

"The letter he wrote to Professor Raine?" She smiled again. "She is really pretty though."

"But that was for you!"

Colette paused, hands still clasped before her. Genis couldn't read her face. He decided to just explain further.

"Lloyd wanted to write how he felt about you, but he's so thick-headed and just didn't give it to you like any normal person would. He even asked me for help and everything. So, all those things about red roses and your smile and…" A sigh, so much like his sister's. "Aortic pumps, were for you. This is so weird for me to talking about, but Lloyd's my friend and I just thought you should know!"

Colette remained silent. Genis then wondered if maybe this was the worst thing he could've done for his friend actually, but not like the other options were much better! "You don't have to tell Lloyd or anything if you don't like him back. I don't think he's going to be writing anymore love letters anytime soon."

"I do, though."

Very soft, a breath, one that was swallowed up by the ocean's waves from far off. Even Genis' nimble hearing could barely make out a sound.

"I do like him. A lot. So much… I'm sorry."

Genis considered. "And you're apologizing… why?"

Colette shook her head, though kept on her smile. It was wider, showing a bit of teeth, and her cheeks stretched enough to create dimples.

"I'm really glad all those things were for me. I'm so happy."

This worked out even better than Genis had hoped for. He really was smart! "Great! Then you can tell him too and be all happy together."

That smile faltered. Colette looked off to the side, where her home was. The sky was painted with hues of orange and gold, inviting a certain sleepy air to the world. "I, well, I can't." She looked like she would say more, but instead just shrugged.

Genis already had to cut short his self-praises. "Huh? Wait, why can't you tell him?"

"I can't." She repeated. Then a shaking of her head. "I can't."

Genis blinked owlishly. Everything that had suddenly made sense to the smartest kid in class just as abruptly didn't at all. "What? I don't get it. If you like Lloyd, too, then why not…"

Colette smiled, with closed lips, and her cheeks as unstrained as possible.

"I don't want him hurt, that's all. So, keep this a secret between us, okay?" Hands fiddled before her, clasped together so tightly. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, well… okay." Genis frowned, then just let out a tired breath. "I really don't get you older kids though. Is this how I'll be later?"

Colette giggled. "You'll be great, I think!" She pressed her hands down her dress, addressing any invisible wrinkles. "Um, is Lloyd still in the village? I was hoping to see him after, but my training always lasts really late now."

"He's getting tutoring from sis, and suffering."

"Oh no! Poor Lloyd."

"I think it's going to be done soon though. This is usually the time she gets hungry." Then Genis flinched. "Argh, I have to start making dinner!" Before he rushed off, he said to Colette, "I bet Lloyd would be happy to see you!"

It was the last thing he could do for his friend, despite all this weirdness about feelings and secrets. He was glad to see that Colette nodded to that idea.

"I'll go see him right now!"

"Great! I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

While he rushed through Iselia, already catching Colette going through the school doors, Genis really had to wonder. Maybe this was what love was about, after all?

 _But what do I know,_ he thought to himself, pushing all the questions aside. _I'm only eight years old, after all._


End file.
